If immediately implemented, an entirely unrealistic prospect even by the company’s own admission, with commercially produced solar panels available today, the resulting energy savings gained from not burning fossil fuels could cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in half, according to Solar Roadways projections. And best of all, by simultaneously replacing our crumbling roads and deteriorating power grid, the system would even eventually pay for themselves, according to Solar Roadways.

It’s easy to get carried away when faced with an idea as potentially game changing as solar road panels. But how well do solar road panels really stack up when reality crashes into theory?